/ 4 December 2000

HIV RATES FALLING IN AFRICA

The rate of new HIV infections is finally falling in Africa – but only because the epidemic has already struck so many people, says a new report by the United Nations. The report, released in time for World Aids Day on December 1, says 3.8 million Africans were infected with HIV this year. Sub-Saharan Africa now accounts for 25.3 million of the 36.1 million people living with HIV or Aids globally – a figure that amounts to nearly one in every ten African adults.